


What's Next?

by FictionLover007



Series: The West Wing AU series [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Covering a lot of modern topics, Don't expect it until Chapter 47 or something, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hunk as Sam, I have feels, I should be doing homework, I watched season 4 of Voltron and then the West Wing pilot, I will try and identify them in the notes, Keith as Toby, Lance as Josh, M/M, Pidge as CJ, Pidge will be identified as a she in early chapters, Shiro as Leo, The West Wing AU, There may be trigger warnings, but I cannot cover them all, but as a they in later chapters, expect Chapter 47 in 2018, nobody asked for this, other Voltron characters will make appearances, seriously slow burn Klance, slow burn keith/lance, spoilers for the West Wing if you haven't watched it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-18 23:24:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12398388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionLover007/pseuds/FictionLover007
Summary: Basically, this is the West Wing AU that no one is asking for, but I have feels, so I'm writing it anyways.Lance McClain is the Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House, and this story will follow him and the other senior staffers during their administration. Just another day at the White House brings crazy adventures, crazy stories, and occasionally, they get to make the world a better place. And how do they do it? They ask a very simple question; "What's next?"





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> Politics: While I will not be following the episodes of the West Wing word for word, I will be keeping a relatively close structure to said episodes up until a certain point. This fanfiction is not to express a political opinion, and I do not wish to hear the political opinions of those who may oppose any policies or actions expressed in this piece of writing. There will be a heavy democratic and liberal political bias expressed throughout much of this work, although, there may be some expression of republican points as well. 
> 
> Gender: Pidge/Katie Holt, is a popular character in the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom, and is portrayed by many fans with a multitude of gender expressions. In this fanfiction, I will be portraying Pidge as a closeted nonbinary character that will come out of the closet at some point in this fanfiction. Until that point, Pidge's pronouns will be she/her. This will be important to the fanfiction plot, although, may not be expressed until later. Please be patient with me. 
> 
> Updates: I am a college student. I am a busy college student, that will have loans to pay. I am not obligated to update this at a certain schedule, and cannot confirm when the next update will occur. I can confirm that I am more motivated to update this if I receive kudos and comments. I think I will try and keep to two chapters an episode, and each work in the series will consist of a season. 
> 
> Triggers: The West Wing is a show that covered many events that still pose as issues today, including controversial topics such as racism, terrorism, the rights of minorities and the LGBTQ+ community, suicide, mental illness, crime, and political opinions. These topics will be covered in this fanfiction, and will also include adult themes. If you are triggered by these mentioned themes, and/or swearing, this fanfiction is not for you, and I suggest you edit your search parameters.

“Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. The captain has turned on the seatbelt sign, and we would like to remind you at this time to please turn off your personal electronics as we make our descent to Ronald Reagan International Airport. The current time is…”

Keith Kogane continued tapping away on his tablet, tuning out the landing speech of the stewardess on his flight. As other passengers put away their devices and followed instructions, cabin crew circulated, making their final checks.

“Excuse me, sir?” One air hostess caught Keith’s attention.

“Yes, what is it?” He said, sharply looking up.

“I’m going to ask you to put that device away as we land, please.”

Keith sighed, and said “Miss, with all due respect, this plane is equipped with the latest updates in satellite communications and navigational systems. What an earth is my tablet going to do that would impact a 12 minute landing sequence?”

“Sir, it’s standard procedure. I need you to…”

“Excuse me.” A secondary member of the flight crew approached. “Mr. Kogane, there’s a message for you that was transmitted to the cockpit, although, I’m not sure I’ve got it right. POTUS in a bicycle accident.”

Keith paused, and the tapping on his tablet ceased for a moment, before resuming with more urgency. “No, you got that right. And miss, I don’t think you’ll be able to convince me to put the tablet away now.”

* * *

On the ground of Washington D.C., three cell phones received notification of POTUS in a bicycle accident at 8:42 at night. By 8:42, the next morning, the press room of the White House was packed with reporters, and Katie Holt took a deep breath as she approached the podium.

6 months into the president’s term, and she still was not completely used to the concept of going in front of reporters as the President’s chief press correspondent.

“Katie!” “Katie!” “Katie!”

“Alright, good morning everyone. Let me start out with the basics. Dr. Bartlet, the chief of staff at Altea Angels Memorial Hospital has diagnosed the president with a mild sprain of the left ankle after the president attempted to alter a collision course with an oak tree, while on vacation. The president will be returning to the White House later tonight, with a crutch and a wounded ego.”

“Katie!” One reporter stood up, waving their notepad in the air.

“Yes, Florona?”

“Can you tell us what happened?”

“The president failed to avoid collision with aforementioned tree.”

Laughs arose from the room. With the major topic out of the way, Katie continued directing the collection of reporters through the various stories being handled by the press corps.

“Katie, can you tell us about the president’s position on Lance McClain’s remarks on Capitol Beat the night before last, and McClain’s position as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House?”

Katie closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, again, reminding herself of the difficulty this question was going to pose. “At this time, the White House will not comment on Mr. McClain’s words in regards to the religious beliefs of Mrs. Marsh, and when we are ready to comment, you will be informed. At this time, I particularly cannot comment on the president’s position, but we will have a statement prepared by the end of the day. Is there anything else?”

“Yes, Katie, will you be able to tell us anything about the American response to the Cuban people making their way towards the coast of Florida?”

“Once again, I cannot give you a full briefing on this developing situation, as I have not yet been able to converse with FEMA and the Coast Guard. I will have a full situation report by the 3:00 briefing. Thank you everyone.”

Katie gathered her papers, and marched out of the press room, swiftly, followed by her faithful assistant, Rover. Rover was not his real name, but it was a high school nickname between Katie and him that had stuck throughout his personal life and professional career.

“Katie, you said that we would have a statement at the end of the day, do you know the president’s position?”

“Rover, you know better than to ask me that. I don’t know the president’s position until I speak to the president, and the president isn’t here. All I can do is speak to Shiro until then, and right now, Shiro’s still pissed at Lance, so there will be no conversation until the president is here, and I know next to nothing about Shiro’s position except for the fact that Lance hasn’t been fired yet. Where is Keith?”

“He’s in his office. Hunk is also in Keith’s office. Lance is…”

“Do I really want to know where Lance is and what he’s doing right now?”

“Lance is meeting Nyma.”

“Nyma? Is she back in town.”

“Yes, working for Congressman Sendak.”

“Why?”

“That’s what Lance is finding out.”

“Great. What’s next?”

“Over 1,000 Cubans have loaded themselves, their families, and their possessions are halfway between Havana and the Florida Keys. A storm has picked up speed in the Atlantic, and is headed straight for them. Their options are limited, and as far as we’re aware, they have no way of knowing that the storm is coming. They aren’t turning back.”

“What will be the conditions?”

“The weather conditions that the Cubans may experience or the conditions upon their remaining here should they make it?”

“Is there a chance they won’t?”

“Yes. And an unfortunately large chance at that.”

“Right. So, the Deputy Chief of Staff is possibly about to be fired, a former political assistant of ours is back in town working for a random member of the opposite party for no reason whatsoever known to us, over 1,000 Cubans are sailing into the path of a storm that has a relatively large chance of killing them or blowing them out into sea, and the president of the United States has a sprained ankle after riding a bike into a tree. Am I missing anything?”

Rover shuffled through his papers. “Uh...no, that’s it. I mean, there were a number of crimes last night....”

“Rover? Please?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Thank you. What’s next?”

* * *

“So, how are you doing Lance?”

Lance McClain lounged on the restaurant chair, sipping an iced tea, and raised an eyebrow at the woman sitting across from him. “Hmm?”

Nyma sighed, and shifted her weight on the table in front of her. “How are you doing?”

“Oh. Fine.”

“Really?” This time it was Nyma’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Why?”

“Lance, please. You look like crap, you’re acting like the only guy in DC that doesn’t think you’re about to be fired, and you’re telling me you’re fine?”

“Yeah.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nyma.”

“Bullshit. You’re not fine, that’s plain as day, now…”

“Nyma, we’re not here to talk about me.”

“Sorry?”

“Nyma, what are you doing here?”

“You asked me to lunch.”

“No, I mean, what are you doing in DC. Working for Sendak, why are you here?”

“I’m looking for work back on the hill.”

“Why Sendak?”

“Jake is a man who needed an employee, and I needed work back on the hill.”

“Jake?” Lance questioned.

"Sorry?” Nyma started.

“You called him by his first name, Jake. You’re sleeping with him.” Lance straightened in his chair, and placed his elbows on the table.

“I...I am not sleeping with him. Why do you think…”

“You have houses in both the North, the South, and the Caribbean. You have stocks in the six best-performing companies in America, and you want to work on the hill? Government employees have some of the shittiest pays in the country, right behind dishwashers and fast food employees. In six years you won’t be able to afford housing near the hill, and you called him by his first name. You’re sleeping with him.”

Nyma folded his hands, and breathed slowly. “Yes. Does that bother you?”

“Why would I care?”

“Because I’m me, you’re you, and we were us.”

“Nyma, you and weren’t much. We were together for all what of twelve hours, and you left me, got in a convertible, and drove into the sunset with a weed-smoking hippie and his dog.”

“First of all, there is nothing wrong with smoking weed, second of all, being a hippie, three, we were together for a little more than twelve hours, and I would have thought we meant more to you than that.”

Lance sighed. “You know it did.”

“Yeah,” Nyma said softly, “but it was fun while it lasted.”

Lance smirked. And then his phone rang. He sighed, picked up the device and said “Okay, what’s next?”

* * *

“Family values, are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not.”

“When did family values get onto the schedule?”

“There is a meeting in the Roosevelt Room today between some Christian groups, and the subject is about…”

“Family values.”

“Good, you can read between the lines.”

“And, you want me to go to this meeting because?”

“Because Mary Marsh is going to be at this meeting, we need the support of these groups, and you need to make an apology.”

“Keith, I…”

“You need to make an apology. Because thanks to your stupid comment on Capitol Beat, we have the Christian groups threatening to pull their support from the president, and you’ve managed to alienate every single Christian in the country with a political opinion.”

“Woah, I did not alienate…”

“You said 'Lady, whatever God you pray to is being indicted for tax fraud'. That’s when we put family values on the agenda. You offended Marsh, her church, her community, her supporters. You will make an apology, you’re going to the meeting.  So, I suggest you think about what you’re going to say to Mary Marsh.”

With that, Keith walked off, leaving Lance standing in the middle of the hallway. He stands there for a few minutes, beating himself up internally. He had to let his mouth run, didn't he?

Hunk walks around the corner, and sees Lance, making a beeline for him. “Hey Lance?”

“Hunk. Yeah, hi. What’s up?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute, in your office?”

“Yeah. Come on.”

The two walk along the maze of corridors, when they run into Plax, Lance’s faithful assistant. “Ah, there you are. I need you to sign these things, and read this, and there’s an article floating around that you need to read to prep for a meeting you have later, with Mary Marsh.”

“You have a meeting with Mary Marsh later?” Hunk asked.

“Yeah, I need to apologize.” Lance said, flipping through the papers. “Plax? This article, why do I need it. It’s just a transcript of what I said.”

“No, it’s a transcript of what you said followed by a detailed analysis of how badly you fucked up. Keith wrote it last night, after watching you.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you know what Keith did last night.”

“His assistant, Acza. She had to come back to the office last night, and he was here, with a beer in his hand, you on the tv, and his laptop in the middle of getting a worse beat down than after Texas.”

Lance winced. “You don’t happen to mean... _that_ time in Texas, do you?”

“Why, yes, I am.” Plax responded sarcastically.

Lance huffed. “Okay. Is there anything else?”

“Yes,” Hunk said. “I need to talk to you.”

“Right. Office. Let’s go.”

Hunk led Lance into his own office, waited until Lance passed him, and then shut the door. Lance leant against his desk, and looked at Hunk.

“So, what’s up buddy?”

“I may have accidentally slept with a prostitute last night.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Flashback:_  
_“So what’s up buddy?”_

_“I may have accidentally slept with a prostitute last night.”_

The night before…  
“Tell me the truth, Hunk!”

“That is the truth.”

“You are the Deputy Communications Director at the White House, and you’re telling me you don’t know if the Deputy Chief of Staff is about to be fired?”

“I don’t.”

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not lying, I don’t know, because I haven’t been told yet.” Hunk lamented, his eyes focusing again on a woman across the room, who was sipping wine with what appeared to be a group of her friends, rather than on the journalist trying to get a story.

“That’s crap.”

“That’s the White House.”

“That’s crap. And speaking of crap, which is what this conversation is, since you keep looking over my shoulder at something. What?”

Hunk sighed, and sipped his beer. “There’s a girl behind you, I think she’s looking at me.”

The journalist, whom Hunk thought was being very rude for interrupting Hunk’s night out, proceeded to turn around and locate the girl Hunk mentioned. She was sitting on one of the club sofas, with a glowing blue drink in her hand. Her eyes glinted yellow in the club lighting, and her hair was drawn into two buns on either side of her neck, accompanied by large hoop earrings. The woman was looking back at the two men at the bar, and once again sent a smile in Hunk’s direction.

The reporter turned back to Hunk. “Her?”

Hunk sighed. “First of all, I would like to thank you for the completely obvious way that you just did that, I really appreciate it. Second of all, yes her. Now, go away!”

The reporter huffed, and then left the bar. Hunk made eye contact with the woman, and she cocked her head towards the door. Hunk smiled at her, and then picked up his jacket, and followed her outside.

The next morning...  
“Hey.” Shay smiled at Hunk, as he handed her a mug of coffee as she finished buttoning her shirt.

“Hey. I hope you don’t mind, but I used some milk to make my coffee.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Oh, by the way, did you notice that we have the exact same phone case?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I guess chrysanthemum yellow is more popular than I thought.”

“Guess so. Oh, by the way, you got a text message earlier, but your phone died. We didn’t put them on charge last night. I memorized it when I saw the battery. It said POTUS, all caps, in bike accident, period, from a Shiro.”

Hunk paused, and then started scrambling to gather his things. Shay sat down on the bed, which was still messy, sheets twisted over the mattress, and one pillow hanging off of the side. “Who’s POTUS? A friend?”

“No, POTUS is my boss.”

“Your boss? Wow. In that case, tell your boss he has a funny name, if that doesn’t get you fired.”

“It’s not her name, it’s her title.”

“Title, people still have those?”

“Oh yeah! Loads of people.”

“And what does POTUS mean?”

“President of the United States.”

The look on Shay’s face would make Hunk smile all of the way to work.

Present time…  
“What do you mean accidentally?”

“Um, well…”

“I don’t understand. Did you trip or something? Weren’t you tipped off when she charged you?”

“She didn’t charge me.”

“Excuse me?”

“She didn’t charge me.”

“Then how do you know she was…”

“We had the same phone case. We mixed up our phones. I took hers, she took mine. And when I got to work this morning, there was a phone call, I answered, and the person on the end was inquiring about Shay’s escort services.”

“Shay?”

“That was her name. Listen, Lance, I want to call her again.”

“What? Hunk, why? You can’t call her again.”

“I have to. I need my phone back for one, and two, I think I can help her.”

“Help her? What do...oh, Hunk, no. No no no no no. You want to reform her, show her the error of her ways.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. Hunk, I don’t have to remind you that you are the Deputy Communications Director, and you work for the President. You cannot be seen talking to, communicating with, or associating with a prostitute.”

“Technically, she’s a call girl.”

“A call girl?”

“Lance, can you please stop repeating everything of relevance that I say? It’s getting annoying.”

“Right. Sorry, I’m still stuck on the fact that you accidentally slept with a prostitute…”

“Call girl.”

“Slept with a call girl, and you want to call her again, to convince her to stop her night job.”

“Yes. That is exactly what I want to do.”

“No. If you are caught, if you are found out, if you are seen, you will be put through hell in the press, you will most likely be fired, and I can’t even imagine what they will do to her. You can’t call her.”

Hunk sighed. “Right, I understand.”

“Hunk?”

“I understand. I’ll go back to her place, and make sure I won’t be seen, get my phone back, and that will be the end of it.”

“Good. Now come on. We have a meeting on family values.”  
“No, you have a meeting on family values, I don’t have to be there.”

“Damn, I was hoping you wouldn’t catch that.”

“I may have my problems, but I’m not getting wrapped up in yours. I had enough questions about that last night.”

“Speaking of those, the reporter won’t be a problem I assume?”

“He may have seen her face and that I left with her, but he most likely wouldn’t know who she is and what she does. Even then, the reporter’s paper isn’t even regularly represented in the press room. He won’t be a problem.”

“Okay.”

Hunk got up and left the office, and Lance shuffled some papers around, when Plax knocked on the door.

“Lance, it’s time.”

Lance took a deep breath and started walking towards what was going to be one of the most dreaded meetings of his life, and kept his eyes on the floor of the West Wing, refusing to make eye contact with the various staff buzzing around.

He opened the doors of the Roosevelt Room to find Keith and Mary Marsh already seated. Keith nods at Lance as he takes a seat. A couple other people filed into the room, including the leader of Mrs. Marsh’s organization, Mark Whatshisname (Lance couldn't remember). They took seats and Keith straightened in his chair to begin the meeting.

“The purpose…”

Mary Marsh cleared her throat and interrupted him. “I'm so sorry Keith, but I think it’s best that we get the elephant in the room out of the way. I did not appreciate Mr. McClain’s comments and I will not sit in this meeting without an apology.”

Lance swallowed and said “I agree Mrs. Marsh. My comments the other night were rude, unfounded and unprofessional. It takes a lot of courage to go on television and talk about political views and I should have respected that. I apologize.”

Ms. Marsh’s lips tightened and then twisted into a smirk. “I accept your apology, although I hope you’ll understand that I will chalk this up as a mark against your...foreign character.”

The room was dead silent, and Lance swore he could hear the individual breaths of everyone in the room. “Of course. I only hope I can improve your perception of me over time. Perhaps we should…”

“Lance.” Keith ground out, his teeth clenched. “You know what she just implied right?”

“It doesn't matter, anyways, family values. That's what we came here to discuss. Some topics that have been outlined include condoms in public schools, sex education for teachers, addressing the family unit…”

“I'm sorry,” Keith interrupted, “but I believe that you owe Lance an apology Ms. Marsh.”

Lance trailed off, and glanced between Keith and Mary Marsh. He was not the only one, as Mark’s eyes danced between the two as well.

“What for?”

“Ms. Marsh, I think that your comment about his character was insulting and inappropriate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Foreign character? You might as well just call him an immigrant.”

Mrs. Marsh’s mouth dropped open. “I don't think…”

“Mary…” Mark began to speak.

“No! I don't like what I’ve just been accused of! How dare…”

“How dare I? How dare you judge a person’s character based on where they’re from or the color of their skin or the pronunciation of their speech! How dare you…”

Keith didn't get to finish the statement, when the doors of the Roosevelt Room swung open, and President Allura Altea hobbled into the room on a pair of crutches, escorted by four Secret Service agents.

“Mary, Mark, Lance, Keith, are we having a good time? No? Good. Mark, do you know what my secretary, Mr. Coran told me this morning?”

Mark was as pale as a sheet of paper. “No, Madam President.”

“He told me not to ride a bike when angry. And do you know why I was angry?”

“No, Madam President.”

“Mark, do you remember my asking you to public depose the Westbro Baptist Church?”

“Well, yes, Madam President, but as I’ve told you, the process of doing such a thing is a very complicated process…”

“As a political science professor, I got to know many students and their families. One of my favorite students, a congressman from my home state of New Hampshire, has a fourteen year old daughter, named Annie. She’s a sweet, but precocious girl, and very opinionated. She was asked to interview for a teen magazine, which she was thrilled at, and somewhere between clothes and boys, the interviewer asked Annie about a woman’s right to choose abortion. My student called me up this morning, crying, and I said ‘What’s wrong’ and he said ‘Well, it's Annie. This morning, we found a Raggedy Ann doll in the mailbox. It had been stuffed to look pregnant, and a large sewing needle was stabbed through the belly, and a message was taped to it, saying murderer, sincerely WBC’. Fourteen. Annie is fourteen and has been labeled a murderer by an organization famous for harassing abortion clinics, pride parades, and immigration services. So I’m angry. And to top it off, I come in here to find my chief Communications director getting worked up over my deputy Chief of Staff being reduced to “immigrant” status. Now, here’s how this is going to go. You are going to leave this building, come back when you’ve done what I asked you to do, and then we can discuss condoms in public schools. Good day.”

With that, the president wobbled out of the room, and was quickly followed by Lance and Keith. It wasn't long before they were standing in the Oval Office, and the rest of the senior staff joined them.

The president eased herself into the chair behind her desk, and propped her crutches to the right of her.

“Welcome back Madam President,” Pidge stated. “How was your trip, ma’am?”

“Uneventful. Now, I’d like to address something. Earlier today, a number of Cuban citizens loaded their posessions and their families into boats and set sail for our shores, right into the path of a storm. Rough weather turned several back, but others sailed on. Some made it here, but many are missing, presumed dead. Those that arrived came here in search of a better life, and I intend to give it to them. Pidge, feel free to inform the press of that. Shiro, make sure Mrs. Marsh finds her way out of my White House, and Keith, I would think that after Lance’s actions, you would know better than to stoop to her level. Keep it in check. That's all. Dismissed.”

With that, Shiro, Pidge, Keith and Hunk filed out of the room, Lance bringing up the rear.

“Oh, Lance?”

There it was, the reprimand that Lance was waiting for. “Yes, Madam President?”

“Indicted for tax fraud? You can do better than that, surely.”

Lance smiled. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“That’s all. You may go.”

“Thank you Madam President.”

With that, Lance walked out of the office. Allura read some of the memos on her desk, and then called out to her head secretary.

“Mr. Coran, what’s next?”


	3. Chapter 3

_ Flashback: _

_ “And what does POTUS mean?” _

_ “President of the United States.” _

Nyma is screaming on the phone when she is pulled over by a cop. She’s furious. The officer that pulled her over was trying to get her attention, and asked her if she knew how fast she was going, but she wasn’t paying attention she just kept screaming.

“He voted to shelve it! Shelve it! Do you realize how much of a loss that’s going to be to us! Can you believe it!...Yeah, I know!....Yeah, I’m on my way to find him right now!”

The officer was tired of this person, and calmly snatched the cell phone out of her hand. “I’m sorry, but she’s going to have to call you back.” With that, he hung up the phone and handed it back to her. “Ma’am, will you step out of the car please?”

Nyma sighed, and glared at him out of the corner of her eye, before opening the car door and stepping out.

* * *

_ 20 minutes later… _

Nyma jumped the curb with her vehicle, stopping less than a foot away from Congressman Sendak and two other members of the House of Representatives. A speeding ticket could be seen on her dashboard, but she didn’t really care about that.

“Woah lady, are you crazy?” One of the congressman yelled out at her.

She stood up in her convertible, and yelled back “Am I crazy? Are you crazy? I think you are! I think you’re insane! You voted to shelve the bill!”

Congressman Sendak turned towards his co-workers, and said “Let me handle this, I’ll see you later.”

The other men left, side-eyeing Nyma as she glared at him. “Nyma…”

“Don’t you do that! You voted to shelve it!”

“The president would have vetoed it!”

“And then you would have gotten press time to talk about it!”

“Nyma, I’m not going to apologize for this.”

“You hired me to do a job, and in order to be successful at my job, I need you to listen to me! And I told you…”

“Nyma, I’m not going to run. I won’t win.”

Nyma stared at him. “So...what? You’re firing me?”

“Yes. Although if you’re still interested…”

“Forget it, Jake.”

“You know you’ve probably ruined your suspension on your car now right?”

“Oh shut up!”

“Why are you so upset?”

“Why am I...are you kidding? Let’s see, I have bills to pay, but I just got fired. I am trying to start up an agency, but just lost my only client. Oh, and every one of my former coworkers up at the White House are probably laughing their asses off at me right now.”

“Of course they’re not. They’re the White House, they’re professionals.”

* * *

 

_ At the White House… _

“Victory is mine, Victory is mine! Great day in the morning people, victory is mine!” Lance exclaimed as he swanned through the West Wing office space. Applause filled the room. They had just succeeded in getting the House of Representatives to shelve a bill, and Lance would claim all of the credit. If there was also a win against his ex-girlfriend, then, that would just sweeten the deal.

Plax stood by his office, rolling her eyes. “You happy?”

“I drink from the keg of glory, Plax, bring me the finest bagels and muffins in all the land.”

Plax sighed, and began walking away, muttering “It’s going to be an unbearable day,” under her breath.

Hunk walked into the room. “It’s done?”

“It’s done! I feel that should be known, that it is done, and I did it!” The two of them chest-bumped, and then started walking towards the Oval Office for a senior staff meeting. On the way Keith joined them. Lance nudged him with his shoulder.

“It’s done!” He exclaimed, happily.

Keith side-eyed his co-worker, looking unimpressed. “I heard. Congratulations, I guess.”

Shiro appeared in the hallway. “Lance, it’s done?”

“Why yes it is, Shiro. It is done!”

The four men stood in the antechamber outside of the Oval Office, where Mr. Coran’s desk, the desk of the Chief Secretary sat. The chief secretary himself was sitting at the desk, typing on a laptop. 

“Mr. McClain. I understand that a bill was shelved this morning, and that you deserve some credit?”

“Well, that depends Mr. Coran.”

“Depends on what?”

“It depends on this question, who da man?”

Shiro and Hunk smiled at Lance’s antics, and there might have even been a small smirk forming on Keith’s face. Mr. Coran smiled, and sighed. “You da man.”

“Hell yeah I am!” Lance and Hunk high-fived, and Mr. Coran waved them inside the office. President Allura was standing behind her desk, conversing with Pidge. 

“The bill is shelved then?”

“Yes, ma’am, Madam President.”

“That is good to hear. All right, what’s next?”

“Well,” Pidge began. “Wives and Mothers of the Carolinas have cancelled a photo opportunity with you Madam President…”

Shiro looked alarmed. “Is this because of the joke?”

“Yes.” Pidge stated. “Madame President, this might be a good time to talk about your sense of humor. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and we can’t keep…”

“ I've got an intelligence briefing, a security briefing, and a 90 minute budget meeting all scheduled for the same 45 minutes. You sure this is a good time to talk about my sense of humor? Also, how was I supposed to know…”

“When USA Today asked you why you didn’t campaign in Texas more, a state in which we lost the election by the way, and you said ‘Because you didn’t look good in funny hats’...”

“I said big hats!”

“Didn’t look good in big hats. People were offended. And we lost!”

“We lost in Texas twice.” Keith muttered, a Texas native, which the inhabitants of the room were reminded of in that moment.

“Keith, Pidge, do you know what’s going to be written on your tombstones?”

Keith snorted “They told me no, and I didn’t listen.”

Pidge hummed, and said “Cynical in life, and death.”

“No,” Allura lamented. “Post hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc. Does anyone know what that means?”

No one answered her. “Oh come on,” Allura whines. “Most of you are lawyers. Someone must know!”

Silence remains. “Lance, Hunk, please, somebody.”

Lance tried to give it a shot. “After something, therefore something else.”

“Good, but not enough. Anyone else? No? Fine. After it, therefore because of it. Can anyone tell me what  _ that _ means? No? It means that  one thing follows the other therefore it was caused by the other. But it's not always true, in fact it's hardly ever is. And why is this relevant? Because we didn’t lose Texas thanks to the joke.” 

Shiro muttered “Then when did we lose Texas?”

Lance smirked. “When the president learned to speak Latin.”

“Go figure,” Allura smiled. “What’s next?”

Shiro consulted his tablet. “Well Madam President. You are consulting with Captain Ryner, for your medical examination today, Lance, you and Keith will be discussing media consultants. After that photo cancellation, we need to improve our image to the public, and Pidge can’t do it on her own. We need help. I’m recommending Nyma. And Pidge, later on today, you’re going to be asked about a statement from Vice President Lotor. The statement is along the lines of the president needing our support right now, and I want it out of the press. Keith, after you and Lance have discussed Media consultancy, I want you and Hunk to discuss this, and then continue on the Hilton Head speech. That’s all.”

“Wait,” Lance interrupted. “Nyma, we can’t hire her!”

“Oh yes we can. Sources have told me that she was fired this morning after the shelving of the bill. Sendak is no longer a problem.”

“No, I mean we can’t hire her!”

“Really, name one reason that isn’t personal for that we can’t hire her.”

“Well...she’s my ex girlfriend!”

“Good enough for me. Go.”

The senior staff dispersed, and Shiro glanced at Allura, who was smirking at the disgruntled Deputy Chief of Staff.

“I agree with Keith about what should be on his tombstone more than I agree with you.”

“Fair enough,” Allura said, “And Pidge wasn’t wrong either. But, there is something to be said about the sentiment.”

* * *

_Later on…_

“We’re hiring Nyma.” Keith stood in the middle of his office, while Lance paced around.

“Why? Why does it have to be her?”

“Because she knows us, she knows how we work, what we need to tell the people, and because she’s the best. And you know that!”

Lance sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, I know that. Of course I know that. But that doesn’t change things. She won’t respect us, Keith. She’s an independent person, with no sense of authority. She will talk back, she has a mouth, and the only reason she’s the best is because she knows when and how to use it. Feel free to think of that in more than one context by the way.”

Keith glared at Lance, not missing the innuendo. “And yet?”

Lance made an audible sound with his nose, and sighed. “Fine. We’ll hire her, but I am going to make it clear to her that she answers to me, and she answers to you.”

“Uh huh.” Keith murmured, flipping through a packet of paper he picked up from his desk.

Lance marched out of Keith’s office, and called out to Plax. “Plax, I’m going to a meeting, can you draw some diagrams about hierarchy and who answers to who in this office. Nyma will answer to me and to Keith, got it? Me and to Keith!”

Keith continued flipping through the papers, when Hunk knocks on the door. “She answers to you and Lance, huh?”

Keith glared the taller man out of the room.

* * *

 

_ In the Oval Office… _

“Hold out your arm for me please?” Captain Mindy Ryner asked President Allura, who was leaning against her desk. 

“Sure. Why?” The president asked, cheekily.

“I need to give you a flu shot, and I need to check your blood pressure.”

“A flu shot? I don’t need a flu shot!”

“Yes you do Madam President.”

“How do I know that’s a flu shot? How do I know that’s not a sedative and this is the start of a military coup?”

“Ma’am…”

“I want the Secret Service in here right now.”

“Madam President, if this was a military coup, what makes you think the Secret Service would be on your side?”

Allura paused, and thought to herself for a moment. “Now that’s a thought that’s gonna fester.”

There was an awkward silence as the Captain withdrew the needle, and pulled out the blood pressure cuff, and wrapped it around Allura’s arm. The doctor squeezed the pump and checked her watch as she slowly released the pressure.

“How is it?”

“Your blood pressure? It’s a little high. Have you been dealing with a lot of stress lately?”

Allura pulled a face at the doctor, one that blatantly said ‘are you kidding?’. The doctor chuckled and said “Dealing with any today?”

“I have a meeting with the joint chiefs later. They make me nervous.”

“And why is that?”

“Because they’re military guys that aren’t happy a woman is in office,  nor do they like the fact I push for diplomacy more than military action. And they don’t like my sense of humor.”

“And what’s wrong with your sense of humor ma’am?”

“They, and my staff, think my jokes are occasionally inappropriate and get me into situations I shouldn’t be in. Anyways,  how’s the family?”

“They’re just fine. The adoption papers just came through, and my wife and I brought home our now-ten day old baby.”

“Really? Oh that’s wonderful! Do you have any pictures?”

“Yes ma’am. Here.” The doctor handed the president a photograph which had been sitting on top of the medical kit, almost as if she was ready to show off her family, like a proud mother. 

Allura cooed at the baby in the photograph. “Aww, she’s just as beautiful as her mothers!”

“Thank you Madam President. I’m gonna miss them for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m getting on a plane to Jordan.”

“What’s in Jordan?”

“A teaching position. I’m going for three weeks. And as for the Joint Chiefs, ma’am. They may not like you, but you outrank them. They will come to respect you.”

Allura made eye contact with the doctor, with a look in her eyes. “Thank you for the advice.”

The doctor packed up her kit, and President Allura stood up, and rolled her sleeves down. She walked around the desk and picked up some files. “Mr. Coran, what’s next?”


	4. Chapter 4

_ “Right. Sorry, I’m still stuck on the fact that you accidentally slept with a prostitute…” _

_ “Call girl.” _

_ “Slept with a call girl, and you want to call her again, to convince her to stop her night job.” _

* * *

 

_ In the office of the Communications Director... _

“So, I need to tell you something…” Hunk began a conversation as he and Keith simultaneously reviewed the speech Hunk had just written. 

“Hmm?”

“I accidentally slept with a call girl.”

Keith paused, almost comically. “A call girl?”

“Please, Keith, I have already had this repetitive conversation with Lance, I don’t need it again.”

“Lance knows about this? What did he say?”

“He told me not to call her again.”

“Good advice. Was it necessary?”

“Yes.”

Keith sighed, and wished that he were not having this conversation. That was the moment Lance knocked on the door. Keith looked up and waved for him to come in. “Close the door please.”

Lance came in, closed the door, and sat down on Keith’s couch, next to Hunk. 

“What’s up?”

“A call girl?”

Lance groaned, and shot a look at Hunk. “We’re not having this conversation again are we?”

“I wish we weren’t having this conversation at all. Were you seen?”

“No. But I was talking to a reporter when I met her. He shouldn’t be a problem.”

“A reporter?” Keith asked, with a slightly elevated, enraged tone. “What the hell were you doing talking to a reporter?”

Lance tried to pacify the Communications Director. “Keith, we all know that reporters personally offend you just by existing…”

“They are the plague upon politics.” Keith muttered.

Lance rolled his eyes. “But, Hunk has assured me this will not be a problem. He has only seen her once…”

“Twice.” Hunk meekly interrupted.

Both men turned to look at him. “Twice?” Keith yelled, with an even more elevated tone. 

“We accidentally switched cell phones and I had to get mine back. I also warned her about my position, and how people might try to take advantage. She’s assured me of her confidentiality.”

“And you can trust her?” Keith asked, eyebrow raised.

Hunk nodded. “I do trust her. She’s a student, trying to put herself through law school, while she and her brother support their parents and her grandmother, all of whom who work. She only operates outside of the District of Columbia by the way, so she hasn’t broken any federal laws by the way.”

“That’s fantastic. She hasn’t broken federal law, but she’s still a sex worker. But she’s trustworthy. That’s great.” Keith deadpanned.

“You know that sex workers are regularly mistreated by their clientele, and far too many are ignored when it comes to sexual assault because they’re selling themselves anyways. Why can’t we treat people just trying to earn a living with some respect?”

“Because so are we, and we still deal with Congress.” Keith mutters.

“And this is why you have a reputation as a lemon, Keith.” Lance quips. 

“And you have a reputation as a pain in the ass, Lance.” Keith shoots back at the other man, finally making eye contact with one of the other inhabitants in the room. 

“I cultivated and cherish that reputation, I’ll have you know.”

“Really, because it seems to me like you get it just for opening your mouth.”

“Well, Keith, I guess that…”

Lance didn’t get to finish his response, because that was when Pidge marched into the room. “I hate him! I hate his guts, I hate his staff, I hate his hair! He’s the Lucius Malfoy of politics, and a son of a bitch!”

The three men stared blankly at her. Pidge threw her hands up in the air, and screamed “I’M TALKING ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENT!”

“Oh,” Lance said. “Right, you had to talk to him about his statement, didn’t you. ‘In this time, the president needs our support’ or something like that.”

“Wait, he said that?” Keith asks. “Doesn’t he know that that sounds like the president is weak?”

“Yeah, that’s what I told him, and I said that I’m sure he didn’t mean to imply that, and he comes back and tells me that he meant to say exactly what he said, and that I do not have the authority to question his words, because I’m just the press secretary.”

“Tell Shiro, he’ll handle it.” Keith says, eyes going back to the speech he’s holding.

“I’m tired of going to Shiro about situations like this. People here don’t respect me, and I’m tired of trying to claw my way to the top while hiding behind Shiro.”

Lance stood up, and put his hands on Pidge’s shoulders. “Look, Pidge, the only way you’re going to get people to respect you is to show them a reason to. They won’t while people walk right over you, and until Shiro gets them to stop doing that, they will continue to do so. Let him help.”

“I don’t want his help.”

“Then talk to the president.” Keith mutters, distractedly, not intending for Pidge to actually hear the statement. But she does.

“Okay, I’ll do that. I’ll talk to the president.” With that, Pidge marches out of the office, and in the direction of the Oval Office. 

“Keith!” Lance hisses.

“What?” Keith says, not understanding exactly what just happened.

Plax knocked on the door. “Lance, if you want to talk to Nyma, you need to get going.”

Lance rubbed his face, and says “Someone give me a river to forge or a serpent to slay, it’s gotta be easier than working with both Keith and Nyma.” He walked past Plax, and into his office, slamming the door.

Hunk cranes his neck to see Lance leave, and then turns to Plax. “What’s his problem?”

“He’s been drinking from the keg of glory, but I didn’t bring him muffins and bagels.”

Both Keith and Hunk give her confused stares as she walks back to her desk.

* * *

_ At an undisclosed office in D.C… _

Nyma starts to pour herself a drink into a glass, before deciding against it and swiped the whole bottle. She walks over to the stairs, which are conveniently in the middle of the room.

“Need any help with that?”

Nyma twirls around, to see Lance leaning against the door frame.

“Lance, what are you doing here? Wait, don’t tell me, you’re here to gloat. Well, can you wait until I pop open this bottle?”

“Actually I’m here to offer you a job. Wanna come work for the leader of the free world?”

Nyma’s mouth drops open. “Are you serious?”

“There will be some conditions first…”

“Are you SERIOUS?” She screams. He backs up a step, eyes widening, wondering if she’s mad or upset. 

“Um...yes?”

“Lance…” she advances towards him, wraps her arms around his neck, and kisses him. He struggles against her, trying to push her away. “You absolutely wonderful, and yet despicable human being.” She then punches him in the shoulder.

“Ow! That hurt!” He yelps. 

“You’ll get over it.” She turns away from him, and picks up the bottle. “Anyways, you said conditions?”

“Uh...yeah. Condition 1, you can’t hit me.”

“You’re a bit late there.”

“No kidding. Condition 2, no getting drunk in the middle of the day.” He snatches the bottle away from her, and takes a long swig. She tries to get it back, but he uses his height as an advantage, and holds it out of reach. She tries to kick him, and he dodges her, taking another swig from the bottle.

“And condition 3, you work for me, and you work for Keith. You answer to me, and you answer to Keith.”

“Okay, awesome! What’s my title?”

“Senior media consultant. You’ll be joining in on senior staff meetings, and working with Keith on public image.”

“Speaking of Keith, you told him you’re in love with him yet?”

Lance, who was in the middle of taking another swig from the bottle, proceeded to spit the alcohol out all over the carpet.

“No, and you won’t be saying anything about that either.”

“Well, that is why we broke up.”

“No it isn’t. We broke up because you broke my heart remember, and left me.”

“Yeah, but I left you because you were going to leave me for him.”

“I never would have left you for him. I will never get with him, it’s never going to happen, at least while we work for the White House.”

Nyma, who was smiling, blanched, and said “Wait, you’re not planning on...until after the White House?”

“I can’t. It would be unprofessional. Technically, I have rank over him, and the job is more important. For both of us. A relationship would never work in the meantime.”

“Lance…”

“You know, this is the second conversation I wish I wasn’t apart of today. By the way, you start work on Monday.”

* * *

_ The Oval Office… _

Mr. Coran knocked on the door of the Oval Office.

“Come in!” President Allura called.

“Vice-President Lotor for you, Madam President.”

“Thank you Mr. Coran.”

The ginger male held out an arm, and Vice President Lotor swaggered into the Oval Office.

“You summoned me, Madam President.”

“I understand you brushed off my press secretary today.”

The vice president scowled. “I take it she told on me.”

“I think she wanted to, but she walked all the way to my office, knocked on the door, took one look and said nevermind, Madam President. Hunk told me later about what happened. Now, let me be clear on something. When I send someone to talk to you, you treat them with respect. You treat them as though they carry the burden of this office on their shoulder, you do not treat them as though they are lowly staff members, because when I want you to stay in line, I will damn well send someone to tell you so. Otherwise you will be summoned here continually, do you understand me?”

Allura stood up towards the end of her statement, and placed her hands on the desk, forming an imposing stance. The vice president stepped backwards, shocked at the president’s anger. 

“Yes, Madam President.”

“Good. Thank you. You may go.”

The vice president walked out of the office, his long silver hair trailing behind him. Shiro knocked on the door, and said “You busy?”

Allura kept her eyes on the door that her vice-president had just walked out of. “No. But I was just thinking about something.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“He does look like Lucius Malfoy, just a little bit.”

Shiro snorted. “Yes ma’am he does.”

“What do you need Shiro?”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news Madam President.”

“Don’t you always. Out with it.”

“At 3:30 am, our time, our satellites picked up images of a plane crash about fifty miles from the Jordanian border. The plane is a commercial flight, who’s black box stopped responding ten minutes prior to the crash. A passenger list includes 58 passengers, including 12 active service members and nine doctors. Captain Mindy Ryner was among them. All passengers and flight staff have been confirmed killed. We also picked up a heat signature from the surface to air missile that was used to shoot the plane down. That missile belonged to the Syrian Defense Ministry.”

The president stared at him in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and grief. “No, you can’t...Shiro, are you sure?”

“Yes Madam President. The joint chiefs are waiting for you in the situation room.”

“Shiro. She just adopted a baby with her wife. I saw the photo this morning. And now...she’s gone. Has her family been told?”

Shiro remained silent, and had a pensive face. “Madam President. While I understand you have a personal connection to this, I hope that you don’t mention ‘her’ to the joint chiefs.”

“A personal connection. She was a friend. She was a doctor, headed to a teaching position. What about the 58 other passengers on the plane, and the crew members? They were just victims of an attack. I am furious. I’m angry, and I want to let people know. And I want to blow them off the face of the Earth with God’s own thunder.”

Allura’s face was so stormy that her eyes almost seemed to change to the color of hurricanes, ready to rip the creation of man to shreds. And not for the first time, Shiro was reminded why he’s scared of her.


End file.
